Every new Maserati will use some form of electric propulsion from 2019, parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' (FCA) CEO Sergio Marchionne has revealed.
During a conference call with investors, Marchionne said the brand would now spearhead the wider group’s push to electric, which will see more than half of FCA's range use some form of electric power by 2022.
The move follows a similar announcement made by Volvo recently. The Swedish carmaker said that every car it launches from 2019 onwards will have an electric motor and confirmed that it will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021.
FCA's brands, which also include Fiat, Jeep, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Dodge, will all benefit from the new electric plan. Marchionne said Maserati will switch almost all of its investment in internal combustion powertrains to electric after “it completes the development of its next two models”.
The first new electrified Maserati is predicted to arrive in 2020 and will be based on the Alfieri concept that made its debut at the Geneva motor show in 2014. The all-electric model is a two-seater sports car that will use a new platform.
Before then, Maserati will hybridise several of its current models, with the Levante SUV most likely to introduce a plug-in hybrid drivetrain to the range. As Maserati Europe boss Giulio Pastore told Autocar UK last year, “The current platform allows for hybrid. We are working on it for 2019, when we will be ready to offer hybridisation."
Marchionne said that FCA has been hesitant to invest in electric until now due to uncertainty, stating: “We [FCA] have been reluctant to embrace that avenue until we saw a clearer path forward."
Despite being part of its planning process, Marchionne will not head FCA during this push to electrification. The 65-year-old Italian-Canadian announced that he will retire at the end of 2019.
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